I write
Not for glory, or for fame
Not to have my name etched for eternity in words
But simply to speak
To have a record of who I was
Of what I thought
So that maybe, just maybe
In years to come
I can look back and know
The life of this humble man.
A simple goal is it not?
Load your woes on my shoulders
They are broad and will hold.
Let me get you through problems
I know they’ll not fold.
I’ll give you my time so we can just talk
So these issues can melt in the air.
Turn a smile from a frown, lift you up when your down
Make you world that little more fair.
While this help that I give may give me some grief
I will do for no other end.
That if it comes to be, you’ll do it for me
That’s why I call you my friend.
To look at the mountain is to feel despair
To feel hopeless in the magnitude of what faces you
The size of the task ahead seeming far bigger than what can possibly be achieved by mortal man.
That is why you must look instead at the small-scale
At the next ridge, the next camp, the close horizon
Achieve your goal one piece at a time
Pace yourself and there is nothing you can’t achieve.
Lost in the scenic tapestry of a rural idyll
Trying to find your way home but still besotten by the view
As if your own mind is misdirecting you so you can more admire the splendor
The desire to reach your destination calmed by the beauty of the route
The goal will be reached eventually
You have only but to preservere
For the time being enjoy the journey.
On the one side a busy street, filled with the lights of an endless procession of cars.
The other looks out into an abyss
Patrolled by a single swift presence
Moving through the rapidly growing dark in fits and starts
You can only see it in glimpses, the occasional blur of shadow or flit of wing
But it is there
Unseen by the masses of people moving by
Left to go about its business even amongst this urban chaos
Undisturbed nature in the heart of the city.
Early morning sun peaks over the horizon
Covering all with a golden blanket
As if an iridescent paint has been coated on the sides of those high enjoy to feel sun
What more, it is only on the one side
A Janus effect of metallic light on one side and drab dark on the other
It is truly beautiful
A gift from the gods for those who brave the summer sunrise.
To sleep,
To be cradled in the loving arms of Orpheus.
To sail softly in the seas of slumbers temporary oblivion.
To visit the land of nod.
To lose yourself in the deepest reaches of your dreams,
Cast off the days troubles in an ecstasy of rest.
To sleep,
Ah well.
For a hundred years you’ve served us all
From the oldest pensioner to the freshest babe
you have provided a glimpse of natures soft sanity in the midst of furious urban madness
A place to relax, to think, to meet friends in quiet seclusion.
This is what you have done for us
A gift provided free of charge
only asking that you do not intrude the peace of others
For that and much more we, all of us thank you.
To set your thoughts in words of verse
Nothing else can be so worse
To force your mind upon the mob
So when you cry, they can sob
and spread your joy to far and near
A little love, some pain, or fear
Your mind to show more than you dare
To give your message, all you care
Our soul forever wrapped in word
All other goals will sound absurd.
Short legs moving as if in a blur
Keeping fast pace to hold with life around them
No time to stop, for life does not stop
Each step of those who tower above, takes the short dozens to catch up
Each moment magnified many fold
Even a shorter life can spread on to infinity.
joe2poetry 